


Obscura

by DragonFlight



Category: Yandere Simulator (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2018-06-10 07:27:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6945598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonFlight/pseuds/DragonFlight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a killer at Akademi High School, and they’re not stopping until they get what they want. Unfortunately for them, there’s someone standing in their way. Several someones, armed with cameras and a heavy dose of righteous fury.</p><p>The Photography Club isn’t going down without a fight, but can they catch the killer before it’s too late, or will one of them be next on the list?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Since Yandere Sim is a game in development with possible changes to final characters, I decided to use all my own characters. Except for the most well-known characters (Oka, Ayano), every character is my own.

PART ONE - FOCUS

CHAPTER ONE  
Itsuki Kurosawa carefully turned the knob on top of his camera. He hissed through his teeth as the image came into and out of focus. “Come on,” he growled, his hands shaking as he made the minute adjustments. The photo settled into place, but his fingers twitched and it blurred again.

“Need some help, Itsuki?” Airi Yamaguchi twitched in place in front of the camera, itching to take it out of Itsuki’s hands. As he lost focus for the third time, she gave up. “Stop being an idiot.” She spun around, her long hair brushing across Itsuki’s face, and within seconds had the picture clear in the sight.

“Thanks, Airi.” Itsuki awkwardly rubbed his hands together before motioning to the camera. “You should get back in the picture now.” Airi gave him a smile and returned to behind the tripod. Itsuki hit the timer button and followed.

“Nice work, Itsuki. You’re supposed to be our president?” Katsuro Mori elbowed him in the ribs, his smile too sincere for the joke. “You should resign for Airi.”

“Not happening.” Itsuki kept his face to the camera, a slight smile brushing his lips.

“No, Itsuki, you’re doing it wrong!” Emi Ueda leaned over his shoulder. “You have to look excited! Friendly! Like you’re saying, ‘Come join our club!’”

“I’m not sure he can smile. Isn’t it against the rules?” Airi showed all her perfect teeth in a model grin. “Besides, people’ll join. We’re the cool club.”

“Not even close.” Ryouichi Miyamoto had been quiet until then, leaning uncomfortably against the back wall. “On the list of club coolness, we’re about dead last. The only club lower is the Occult Club.”

“What about the Cooking Club? They’re pretty pathetic.” Itsuki flicked Emi’s hand off his arm.

“Free food? Everyone loves them!” Airi ruffled Itsuki’s hair. “Come one, Itsuki, smile! I want to look good!”

The camera flashed brightly. Airi quickly picked it up. “Looks pretty nice. Everyone blinded? Good! No closed eyes. I’ll just print this real quick and we’ll put the poster up.” She flounced out of the room, hair bouncing in time with the click of her heels.

Emi sighed. “Class time, I suppose. Ugh. I hate language studies.”

“How? You’re so good at it!” Katsuro picked his bag up from where it had been leaning against the wall. “Come on, if we hurry we can stop by the kitchen before class starts!” He walked out, followed closely by Emi with Ryouichi trailing behind.

Itsuki sighed, rubbed his head, and left the room. The meeting had been normal, if a bit boring. He was happy to leave for class. Of course, he had no way of knowing that it would be the last normal meeting he’d ever have.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Akademi High School had three floors, and it was on the first Itsuki decided to wait after school. There was a courtyard in the middle of the school, perfect for relaxing and for gossip. The students gathered there every day to talk, but Itsuki preferred to listen.

A large group of girls were already congregating by the fountain in anticipation. It was well known throughout the school that the best way to get information was Masami Shimizu. All the gossip in the school went through her, and she was always open to sharing. She was already in the circle, clearly bursting with news.

“Did you hear?” asked Masami, leaning conspiratorially inwards even though her words were clearly audible where Itsuki was sitting. “Miyu didn’t come to school today.”

“She was probably just sick,” said Shiori. She was always a sceptic, doubtful of everyone else’s ideas.

“Well, I heard it was more than that.” Masami lowered her voice slightly for effect. “I heard she’s gone missing.”

The girls gasped. “You’re joking, Masami,” said Aki, glancing fearfully behind her as if watching for the kidnapper to come steal her away. “You shouldn’t tell such awful lies!”

“I’m just telling what I heard. I went by her house yesterday, and there was a police car down the block.” Masami smirked slightly, proud of the seeds of discontent she was spreading. While most of the teachers saw her as an angel, Masami had quite a vicious streak that she fed through her network of rumors.

The girls murmured, looking to each other for comfort. Masami gave a light laugh. Now that the idea had been planted, she had no more business with the other girls. “I have to go speak to a professor. Excuse me, girls.” She strutted away, every inch oozing confidence.

“She’s a demon, honestly.” Itsuki looked away to see Airi lounging beside him. She crossed her ankles and let out a large yawn. “I don’t know why anyone even listens to her. She only spreads lies.”

“If people believe them, are they really lies?” Emi sat on Itsuki’s other side, backpack against the tree.

“Of course they are! Just because someone thinks something’s true doesn’t make it true!”

Emi looked up at the cherry blossom tree. “Well, it’s true to them.”

“No, they’re just being deluded into believing it’s true!”

“Girls,” Itsuki said. “Can we just all agree she’s the devil incarnate and leave it there?”

Airi snorted. Emi rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond just as Katsuro ran up, looking flustered but not at all winded.. He was quickly followed by Ryouichi, panting and out of breath.

“Guys,” Katsuro said. “You need to come. Now.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The ground was red. Not a light red like the reflection of sunlight through a stained glass window, or a medium red like a bucket of paint spilled on the ground. There was no stained glass in the school, and the art classroom was far away. It was a dark, sticky red, the kind of red you feel is going to swallow you up if you get too close. It was smooth, still newly spilt, and it spread across the floor so slowly you could barely tell it was moving. The red shone slightly in the light. It would have been pretty if not for the body.

They all jumped when they saw it, and felt a little silly for not expecting it. Of course there was a body, for from where else would all this red have come from? But it was still a shock to see a limp form sitting so silently on top of her sea of ruby. Her hair was splayed gently in the puddle, floating as it was slowly saturated with the red. Her uniform soaked in the red, her very skin seemed to ache for it, clinging to the red as if alive. Her eyes were open and seemed to stare straight into the abyss of whoever met them, shining into their darkest places with a blazing red light. Look, they seemed to say. Look at me. This is all you’ll ever be.

The Photography Club took it all in. It wasn’t the body that made them pause. They had seen photos of dead, of them empty staring of the dead. It wasn’t even that her eyes weren’t as empty as they had always been led to believe. It was the blood.

So much blood, thought Emi. Can one person really contain this much blood? She shuddered at the idea, but refused to turn away.

Why? asked Itsuki. Why does this happen? It mattered not how it occurred, simply why, and as he stared at the robbed girl all he could think was how wrong it was.

Ryouichi didn’t think. He tried to clear his mind of all thought, of all emotions. Ignore it. It doesn’t matter. Stop thinking about it. Stop it. Ignore her. She’s not important. Focus, Ryouichi, focus!

Wonderful, was the first thing Airi thought. The second was, That’s an awful thing to think! The third was, At least this year won’t be boring.

Katsuro turned away. It was all he could do. The body didn’t bother him, nor did the blood. It was the cruelty that would have led to this girl’s death. He felt tears well up in his eyes and closed them.

The blood had moved forwards a few centimeters since they had arrived, and they took an involuntary step back. Already the teachers were swarming around them, pulling them away, but they had seen it, and so they would forever be too close. They left the classroom and headed back to the club room. It was as far as they could go. Katsuro stopped holding in his tears and let them flow, sobbing into Itsuki’s shoulder. Airi had closed her eyes, but she opened them and took out her notebook, writing with hard strokes. Emi had stayed to talk with the teacher and now she was arguing with him outside the door, waving her hands as he tried to escape her. Ryouichi slumped down against the wall and curled into a ball, shivering slightly.

By the time Emi returned to the group, shoulders scrunched, Katsuro has stopped crying and was now breathing deeply, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Tear stains marred his cheeks but he didn’t bother to wipe them away.

Itsuki took a shuddering breath. “Wha...what happened to her?”

Emi walked next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. “They say it was...suicide.” She squeezed him once and stood up. “I...I need...I need to go home.” She turned and walked away as fast as she could.

Airi looked up from her journal marked with deep lines, the paper torn from her anger. “We need to do something.”

“What, Airi?” Itsuki leaned against the wall beside her.

“We need...we need to stop this.” She tore a page out from her notebook and crumpled it, letting it drop to the grass. “It couldn’t have been suicide. Look at all the...blood. We...I can’t let this happen again.”

“Airi, leave this to the adults. They’ll handle it.”

“I can’t! I can’t leave it to them! I have to do...something!”

“Like what, Airi?” Ryouichi looked up, his face guarded. “What can you do? It happened, it’s over, there’s nothing you can do. Just leave it be.”

“Don’t you care, Ryouichi?” Airi looked down at him. “A girl is dead at our school.”

“I didn’t know her. I’m not her friend, I don’t even know her name.” Ryouichi put his head back into his hands.

“So because you didn’t know her her death doesn’t matter?” Katsuro spoke for the first time since they sat down. His voice was choked by tears but the outrage was still there, an undertone beneath the sorrow.

“No.” Ryouichi’s voice was muffled by his fingers, but he sounded apathetic, like he was reading an obituary in the newspaper of someone who had died a world away. “I’m saying we have no right to avenge her. Let her friends do that.”

Airi sighed. “I’m going home. See you tomorrow.” She wiped her eyes unclouded by tears and left.

“She’s running,” mumbled Ryouichi, slumped on the grass. He looked loose, like his limbs didn’t quite connect properly, and he huddled into himself like he was trying to disappear.

“She’s right, though.” Itsuki wrapped an arm around Katsuro and heaved him to his feet. Katsuro swayed slightly, unwilling to hold himself up, and Itsuki slipped Katsuro’s arm behind his head to support him. He looked back at Ryouichi. “Come on.”

“You go,” said Ryouichi. He was melting into the ground, tucked into a ball to hide from the world. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Itsuki left, dragging Katsuro alongside him.

When he was sure they were gone, Ryouichi unfolded, taking a deep breath of fresh air. He glanced back at what they had just left, imagining the blood pooling across the ground, and tried to squash down the flicker of interest that rose up in him at the sight of the dead girl. It’s tragic and sad and horrible, he told himself. Stop it. But a part of him seemed to smile at the memory, and he didn’t have the strength to push it away.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The club deals with the aftermath of the first death.

CHAPTER TWO

Airi pulled the door to her room shut and collapsed on her bed, burying her face in her pillow. A silent sob wracked her body, and she pushed her hair back from her face. She let herself lay for a second, then pushed herself up and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and booted up her computer.

The school Facebook was in a frenzy. At the top of the page was a memorial: Mai Matsushita. Underneath, messages from friends and classmates, even teachers told the story of her life.

Mai had been a quiet girl, but very friendly and well-liked. She was average academically, but she tried hard and was excellent at teamwork. She had never been popular, but now that she was dead the outpouring from the community far outstripped anything before.

She was dead. Airi took another breath, letting it out in a quiet hiss. She was dead. She was dead and Airi could be next. She put her face in her hands. She could be next, or Emi, or Itsuki, or Katsuro, or Ryouichi. She pushed the thought out of her mind with the next breath. It was suicide. It had to be. That was what the teachers said. They wouldn’t lie, right? It was no one’s fault. It was just a horrible accident and it would never happen again. She turned back to her computer and opened her email. She’d talk to the directors. Talk to the students. Make sure this would never happen again. She started to type. They’d listen, now that someone had died. They’d have to listen.

Water dripped on her keyboard. Airi paused, fingers trembling. She reached up, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks. She touched her eyes, then looked back at her computer screen to see she had been typing the same words over and over again.

Airi dropped her head to her arms and sobbed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The class was somber the next day. Emi glanced over at Mai’s desk. The teacher had placed a lily on it, and several other students had added their own flowers. The desk stood out as if it was covered in blood. In a way, it was.

Emi turned away and put her head in her hands. Yesterday’s image had burned its way into her eyelids. She hadn’t been able to sleep last night. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was Mai staring at her.

Airi hadn’t come to class. Her empty desk yawned at the corner of Emi’s vision, and it was only a little less painful to look at. Airi wasn’t the delicate type, no matter what anyone thought. But this was murder. Or death, at the very least. The official story was “cause unknown”, or, if pressed, suicide, but Emi had seen the body. There was no way that was an accident. Perhaps that was too much for Airi.

Then what am I doing here? Emi thought. I’m not brave, or strong, or even particularly motivated. If Airi can’t deal with this, there’s no way I can. Emi squeezed her eyes shut. I can’t cry. Not now.

The bell rang, followed by a cacophony of noise as the other students left. Emi remain at her desk, head on her book.

“Emi?” She looked up at her teacher. Her strict expression had softened slightly and she put a hand on Emi’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

“I...I’m fine, thank you.” Emi stood up and shoved all her papers into her bag, hurrying out of the room. She shut the door behind her, breathed out, and crashed straight into Airi.

“Emi!” Airi grinned. He hair was a mess and she wore no makeup, and yet she looked wide awake and happy. “There you are! I hoped you had come to school. Come on, I grabbed the others.” She towed Emi away by the wrist.

“But, Airi, we still have class!” Emi tried to grind her heels into the floor but they kept slipping.

“This is no time for school! This is a time for action!” Airi barged her way into the photography room, where the rest of the club was already waiting. Katsuro was spinning on his swivel chair while Itsuki paced. Ryouichi was curled up against the wall.

“Airi, what are you doing?” Itsuki tried to glare at her, but he looked away.

Airi reached into her bag and dumped a stack of papers onto the desk. “Okay, so I spent last night looking up any other cases of murder in the area. Turns out, there’s a lot!” She flipped through the first few pages. “A bunch of random deaths over the years, but here’s where it gets interesting!” She pulled out a page. “Years ago, there was a rash of deaths at this school! Suicides, murder, disappearances. A bunch were unexplained. No one ever caught who was doing it. All of a sudden, they stopped. The investigation went on for years, but they never found anything!”

“So what?” Emi rubbed her wrist as she sat down. “You dragged us out of class for this?”

“Emi, please!” Airi leaned on her papers. “I know the police are saying it’s a suicide, but we saw it. There’s no way.”

“Can we please not talk about this?” Ryouichi whispered. His eyes were bloodshot and his hair a mess. He was wearing a navy hoodie too big for him that he sunk into like he was trying to hide.

“Come on, Ryu!” Airi said. “Guys, listen! This is serious!”

“We’re being serious,” Katsuro leaned his elbows on his knees. “But this isn’t something we can handle.”

“Leave it to the police, Airi. Or at least the school newspaper.” Itsuki said. “It’s too big for us.”

“The police already finished investigating, and you know the Newspaper Club is useless!” Airi gestured openly with one arm. “A girl just died at our school! Don’t you care?”

“Of course we care!” Katsuro looked down at his lap. When he looked up again, his eyes were watery. “A girl just died, Airi. If it was a suicide, it’s tragic, sure, but taking pictures will only cause the family more pain. And if it...wasn’t suicide, then snooping around could put us next on the list!”

“We’re not just going to take pictures, we’re going to catch the killer!”

“Airi, are you crazy?” Itsuki stared openly, as did Katsuro. Ryouichi buried his head deeper into his sweatshirt.

“I’m serious! We can do something! The police can’t always be here. We can!” Airi pulled her camera from her bag. “One picture is all we need!”

“Airi, you’d have to catch someone committing murder!” Emi’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

“And? I know every inch of this school. Places to hide, to store weapons...”

“I can’t believe you’re considering this!” Itsuki slammed his hand against the wall. “You could get yourself killed!”

“I know! But someone needs to do it!”

“How about the police?”

“They’ll never catch this guy!”

“How do you know?”

“How don’t you know?”

“Guys, stop it.” Ryouichi said. Airi stopped with her hands in the air, Itsuki in a nearly identical pose. Katsuro looked up from his lap again. Emi sighed loudly. “You’re being ridiculous.”  
“I am not!” said Itsuki and Airi in unison.

“How about this? We wait and see if the police find anything. If it happens again, we’ll investigate. If it doesn’t, this argument was even more pointless than it was already.”  
“Good idea,” Emi said crisply. “Any objections? No? Good.”

“But-”

Emi cut her off. “No, Airi! You can’t! I won’t let you!” Airi stared at her, and Emi dropped her gaze to the floor. “I...I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Airi’s face softened. Emi sniffed. “So...yeah.” Emi shook her head and looked back up with a forced smile, lips trembling. “Now I have to go tell my teacher my friend kidnapped me from class!” She glared at Airi and walked out.

“Wait! Don’t tell her that!” Airi snatched her bag from the floor on the way out the door. “I don’t want to get in trouble!”

Katsuro sighed. “I’m going to the roof for some peace and quiet. See you guys later.”

Itsuki looked at Ryouichi. He was in a chair now, feet tucked onto the edge of the seat, knees covering his face. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Ryouichi mumbled, his long hair hanging over his eyes.

“You sure?” Itsuki leaned down to look him in the eyes, but Ryouichi turned away.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

“Okay, then.” Itsuki picked up his bag and, with a final glance at Ryouichi, left.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ryouichi had made his first acquaintance with death when he was seven years old. His grandfather had died, and in between sobs his mother told him that Grandpa was gone, and he was never coming back.

This had confused Ryouichi. Never was a strange word. His parents had always said that never wasn’t real, anything could happen if you just believed it could. So Ryouichi believed Grandpa was alive, and was thoroughly shocked when his father told him no, they weren’t going to Grandpa’s house that summer.

It wasn’t an obsession, exactly. Just a unique hobby. At least, that’s what Ryouichi liked to think. No one else seemed to share his sentiments. He couldn’t understand why other people found his interest weird. He had never seen death as something to cry about. It was exciting. Something new, something no one really understands. Killing someone is the same as a science experiment: it’s just research.

Of course, he never went through on his “studies”. His classmates found him strange enough, and his parents had been discussing psychologists behind his back. His jokes and lack of caring disturbed people, his excitement at news of a murder worried them. Either way, Ryouichi wasn’t sure he could carry out a murder, and he’d certainly be caught if he did. It was better to hide it.  
He never truly lost that interest. He’d still read the obituaries every week, and his favorite shows were still murder mysteries. But Ryouichi had learned enough. His fascination was wrong, it was shameful, it was something to be hidden. It meant there was something wrong with him, that he was a bad person and deserved to be shunned.

So when Ryouichi moved to a new school, he was determined that he would be normal.

And then, this happened.

Ryouichi shuddered, curling into a ball on his chair. It was always best to hide. Tell no one, show no one. Pretend you’re too distraught to talk. It’s better than the truth.

“At least I’d never kill anyone,” he said out loud to the empty room. It didn’t answer, except through the pealing of the bell. Ryouichi breathed deep, closed his eyes, and stood up. Time to go.

If you want friends, stay normal. Nothing weird, nothing too conspicuous. Never be anything more than a wallflower. Those were his rules. And they had worked for nearly a month, until a boy with spiky red hair and a smile too big for his face had asked him to join the Photography Club.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Maybe it’s a ghost,” said Emi. She took a bite of her lunch and wiped her mouth with the napkin. “I mean, if all those people really did die here, there’d have to be something.”

“Ghosts aren’t real,” scoffed Airi. “Anyway, why would a ghost kill someone? That would make another ghost, and that would just be awkward.”

“Maybe they really hated that person?” Emi crossed her ankles. “A grudge, or something.”

“Why would a ghost from years ago have a grudge against a girl now?”

“A family curse? Or a parent wronged them in some way? Ooh, maybe the parent killed them!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Ghosts don’t work like that.”

“How would you know?” Itsuki pointed out. “Besides, I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”

“I don’t, but we have to follow all the possibilities.” Airi leveled a glance at Emi. “As ridiculous as they may be.”

“Hey, I’m just talking! You don’t have to listen.” Emi pulled her water bottle from her bag and took a sip. “But, if you really want to know...” She turned to Katsuro. “Aren’t you and Ryouichi friends with some of the weirdos in the Occult Club?”

“They aren’t weirdos!” Katsuro protested. “Just cause they find strange stuff interesting doesn’t make them strange.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Emi. “Go ask them, okay?” Katsuro began to respond, then stopped with a sigh.

“Where’s Itsuki?” Airi glanced over her shoulder as if expecting Itsuki to pop out.

“He’s in the courtyard, as always. What he gets from gossip I’ll never understand.” Emi peered over the railing on the roof into the yard. “Maybe he’s just there to ogle pretty girls.”

“With all the girls throwing themselves at him, he doesn’t need to. So if he’s there, where’s Ryouichi?”

“I thought he was with Itsuki.” Katsuro frowned. “Do you guys feel like there’s something he’s not telling us?”

“A bit, but he’s so secretive. I asked him his favorite food the other day and he looked at me like I’d just asked him to stab his mother.” Airi said.

“Do you think something’s wrong with him?” Katsuro wore the concerned look he adopted whenever he spoke of Ryouichi. “Should we ask?”

“If we asked, he’d just push us away. We’ll just have to watch him.”

“Seems a little backhanded, spying on your friend.” Emi smiled despite her comment.

“Not if it’s for a good cause. Anyway, he’d never tell us anything. I think he’s afraid of scaring us off.” Katsuro said.

“Okay, then. Keep an eye on him. Now, go talk to those weirdos!” Airi pushed Katsuro off the bench. “And take Ryouichi with you. I think he could use the company.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The club begins investigating.

CHAPTER THREE

The Occult Club room had always been a little creepy. It was dark, for one thing, lit only by candles instead of electric lights. There were bookcases filled with odd books and a creepy rug with a pentagram on it. But the creepiest part was the altar. It was normal wood, covered with a purple cloth and candles. The only problem was the skull.

They had never said if it was real or not. Katsuro preferred to think fake, just as he knew the club preferred real. It had a ritual knife stuck in it, but as it was never removed Katsuro assumed (hoped) it was plastic. The skull was listed by the school as fake, but that meant nothing. The kids knew plenty of ways to sneak things past the teachers.

It was lunchtime, but most of the club was there anyway. Social outcasts, they tended to spend most of their time among their own kind rather than their classmates. Katsuro couldn’t blame them. Barely any of the other students were friendly with the Occult Club. With the exception of Katsuro, of course. His motto was, “Be nice to everyone and they’ll be nice in return”. It seemed to work. Although it didn’t show, Katsuro was among the most popular kids in the school.

Ryouichi was friends with the club as well, but Katsuro wasn’t sure how much that had to do with friendship and how much with being forced into it by Katsuro.

Speaking of Ryouichi, he gravitated towards the books just as he did every time. He ran his fingers over the spines of the nearest bookcase while eying Katsuro. “Why are we here?”

“Emi asked me to talk to the Occult Club about the murderer being a ghost.” Katsuro glanced at the rug. A circle of lit candles ringed the pentagram, pouring thin streams of smoke into the air and covering the room with a slight haze.

“A ghost?” Ryouichi’s expression was a mix of disbelief and amusement. “Seems a little silly.”

“Probably, but I think she was trying to prove a point to Airi. She doesn’t like the idea of investigating. She’s worried about Airi getting hurt.” Katsuro picked up a candle and blew it out. Barely a second after he stopped, the wick relit.

“And you?” Ryouichi had pulled a book from the shelf and was hiding his face behind it while pretending to read.

“I don’t know.” Katsuro carefully replaced the candle and returned to the entrance. He leaned against the bookcase. “Someone needs to find out what happened, but we’re kids. We can’t catch a killer. Airi thinks it was murder, but I’m not so sure. How would a murder even happen on school grounds? Someone would have seen it.”

“Maybe they saw it and the murderer killed them too.”

“Seems a bit much.” Where were they? The club ate lunch in here nearly every day. “If they had to kill every witness, it would get pretty obvious.”

“Maybe. But still. I think we should stay out of it.” Ryouichi’s voice, already soft, dropped to a near whisper. “It’s dangerous to get near people like that.”

“Mmm.” Katsuro pulled the book from Ryouichi’s hands and put it back on the shelf just as the door opened and the Occult Club came streaming in. They were momentarily startled by Ryouichi and Katsuro, but recognition kicked in and they gave friendly greetings.

“Um...hi.” Oka, the leader of the club, was the last in the door. She was holding a paper bag that seemed to be slowly turning red.

“Uh, Oka?” Katsuro pointed at the bag. It dripped a spot of red onto the wooden floor.

“Oh, this is for after school.” Oka placed it on the altar. “We had a new idea for a summoning.” She opened the bag, tilting it towards Katsuro to show a raw steak.

“Hey, what do you know about ghosts?” She seemed momentarily taken aback by the question, a slight panic flashing in her eyes, but she relaxed quickly.

“What do you want to know?” Oka fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. “There’s lots of kinds of ghosts...”

“Could a ghost kill someone?” Katsuro scanned the other club members, but they were sitting in the chairs around the perimeter of the room.

“Oh, um...maybe? It depends on how they died. If it was violent...” She glanced up quickly before returning to inspecting the floor. “It sounds more like...a demon. I...there might be...nevermind.”

“Oka?”

She turned her back and fussed with the altar cloth, straightening it with minute jerks. “It’s nothing, Katsuro. Just...nothing. Forget it.”

“Okay...” Katsuro looked back at Ryouichi. He was in the corner again, chatting with one of the other club members. “Hey, Ryu?” Ryouichi looked over and said a quick goodbye to the student.

“Hi, Oka.” Ryouichi gave a tiny wave with his head still down, but Katsuro doubted Oka saw it. She was facing the floor again. “What is it, Katsuro?”

“Any suggestions about ghosts?” Katsuro blinked as they both looked at him in unison.

“I don’t believe in ghosts.” Ryouichi’s voice was slightly strained, muffled by the floor.

“Oh.” Oka glanced at the door. “Okay.”

A silence fell upon the room. Ryouichi pulled his hands back into his sleeves and wrapped them around his torso. Oka kicked a foot into the rug, rattling the candles.

Katsuro sighed. “Hey, Oka. Aren’t those a fire hazard?”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Airi wasn’t popular.

It was a surprise to most people who met her. She looked like a popular girl. Perfect makeup, not a hair out of place. Her uniform was standard, but the way she carried herself made it seem luxurious. She had the newest everything, and wasn’t above a little bit of gossip. But spend more than five minutes with her, it was abundantly clear why Airi never was, nor would ever be, popular.

She had drive. She’d trample everyone and everything in her way with little to no remorse. She turned a talk into a debate, a casual chat into a lecture, a question into a declaration. Most people couldn’t stand more than ten minutes with her. She was passionate, she was interested, and she was far smarter than she appeared. Most conversations ended with a hurried goodbye or a flimsy excuse. Airi was okay with that. She had never wanted to be popular. She’d do anything to get what she wanted.

But this was pushing the limits.

“You’re kidding!” Aki shrieked in a voice that pierced straight through Airi’s brain. “You have got to be kidding me!”

Masami held out her wrist, proudly showing off her new watch. It was the third this month, and every time Masami just had to rub it in everyone’s faces.

“Wow, Masami! It’s beautiful!” Airi tried to match their voices, but her’s didn’t go quite high enough. She coughed. “Where’d you get it?”

“From that shop on main street. You know, the really high end one? They’re super expensive, but so worth it.” She shook her wrist slightly, the gold band catching the light. “I think it’s solid gold. You know, gold is one of the strongest metals on Earth.”

“You’re so smart, Masami!” Miyu was trying hard to get back into Masami’s favor after yesterday’s kidnapping rumor. The girls had been disappointed to see her arrive at school, and so immediately shunned her. Masami ignored the comment, to the other girl’s giggles.

Airi groaned internally. Enough of this ridiculousness. “So, Masami. Did you hear anything about...you know, yesterday?”

Masami’s face instantly changed into a facade of sadness. “Oh, that. Well, it’s very tragic, but I felt Mai was a likely subject...” She and the other girls nodded sadly, trying their best to look solemn.

Airi gritted her teeth so hard they creaked. They didn’t care. How could they not care?

“I haven’t seen you a lot.” Airi looked up to see Masami studying her with a critical eye. “Are you new here?”

“No, I’ve lived here my whole life.” Airi laughed hollowly. “I don’t expect you to know me. We don’t have a lot of classes together.” Only all of them.

“No, wait, I know you. You’re part of the Photography Club, right?” The girls’ gazes fastened on her. Ryouichi hadn’t been lying when he said the club wasn’t popular. Most of the popular girls didn’t even bother to join a club.

“Yes, I am.” Airi’s smile was so fake it made her mouth hurt. “Why? Are you thinking of joining?”

Masami’s smile dropped for a few seconds. “Oh, no, I’d never join that club. They’re just...hmmm...not right for me. Although, their leader is kind of cute...” She pretended to think. Airi wasn’t fooled. “What’s his name again?”

“Itsuki. He’s not really leader, though.” Airi took a breath. “Did you know Mai?”

Masami looked annoyed. Used to getting her way, being forced onto a topic she didn’t want to talk about was a novel experience. “Oh, a bit. Nice girl. A little strange.”

Airi gave her the most innocent look she could muster, which wasn’t very good. “You don’t know anything about what happened?” Take the bait, you stupid girl.

Masami’s eyes widened. “Oh! I know all about that! I heard that it wasn’t actually suicide.” Her voice quieted and she glanced around, but for once it wasn’t for show. “I heard it was murder.”

The other girls’ gasps were real as well. “Masami, no!” Shiori put her hands over her mouth. “It couldn’t be!”

“Why not? No one saw her, and the police said it was ‘unexplained’. Maybe they’re just saying that to keep us from panicking!”

The girls twittered. “Are we in danger?” Miyu shivered, looking over her shoulder. “Shouldn’t they close the school?”

“They’d never do that! They care more about the school’s reputation than about the students!” Masami was in her element, feeding off the fear of the other girls. But Airi saw she wasn’t as fearless as she pretended to be. Her fingers were twitching slightly, and every few minutes she scanned the yard as if looking for someone.

“I even heard that it was a student!” Airi sighed. No, this wasn’t what she wanted. Masami was making things up now. Clearly, she knew nothing. Airi slipped out of the group as stealthily as she could, walking behind the nearest cherry blossom tree. She peeked out from behind it, watching the girls whimper.

“Maybe that girl knows something! After all, she brought it up!” Airi winced. Looks like she was just in time. Masami glanced around the circle, then around the courtyard. “She’s gone!”  
“Too scared, I guess.” Miyu made a failed attempt at smirking.

“Maybe she’s the killer.” Airi jumped at that. “She left just as we said the murderer might be one of us. A bit suspicious, huh?”

“Her? No, she doesn’t have the guts to kill anyone.” Masami quickly took control of the conversation again. “But, her club members... Itsuki seems fine, and Katsuro, but what about the other two?”

“The other girl is a bit weird.” Aki frowned. “I don’t know a lot about her, though.”

“Maybe she’s hiding something.”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s silly!”

“Could it be?”

“There’s no way! Right?”

“What about the last member? That weird boy?” Airi started at this. Every student in the school had a reputation. Airi was smart, Emi was strange. Itsuki was nothing but a pretty face to them, but he ignored them so thoroughly that they thought of him with even amounts of admiration and scorn. Katsuro was known as the nicest student in the school, and universally liked. But Airi had never heard what they thought of Ryouichi. Itsuki had told them all what the popular kids thought of them, but he had never mentioned Ryouichi. Airi wasn’t sure if he was never talked about or if Itsuki had been trying to protect the most delicate member of the club.

“There’s no way it’s a kid!” Shiroi had always been the rational one, but even she was succumbing to the panic running beneath the surface of the group. “This is all ridiculous!”

“But that other boy is pretty strange...”

“But why would he kill Mai?”

“Maybe he’s just psycho!”

“I heard that everyone hated him in his old school, so he moved here. Maybe he’s getting revenge!”

Enough was enough. Airi didn’t care what the popular kids thought of her and neither did the rest of the club, but she knew Ryouichi was sensitive. If word got out about his so called “revenge”... Airi ground her teeth and stepped out from behind the tree when someone grabbed her shoulder.

“Let me,” said Itsuki.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been seventh grade. June had been unusually warm, and so they had decided to eat lunch outside. Yuuto had saved them a table at the end of the yard, and Naomi had claimed the only seat with even a semblance of shade. They were laughing, excited at the prospect of summer, when Naomi went pale. Itsuki had grabbed her, asked her if she was okay. She had pushed him off, joking that he was too attached, when she collapsed.

It had been so sudden. There had been no signs, no pre-diagnosis. The doctors were baffled as to how it had happened. All Itsuki knew was that one minute his best friend was laughing and the next she was lying in a hospital bed with a machine helping her breathe.

He visited her every day, at the beginning. Yuuto often came too, but he was far more uncomfortable with the idea that his friend was dying and soon stopped visiting altogether. Itsuki brought her the work she had missed and helped her learn all the curriculum, so she wouldn’t be behind when she came back. They always acted like she was only resting, that any day now she’d get up and go back to school. But the weeks rolled into months, and she only got worse.

They grew apart, then. It was inevitable. Itsuki was moving on, growing up, while Naomi stayed behind. He tried to keep in contact, but his visits waned from daily to weekly to monthly, until he barely saw her at all. Every time he visited, she was a little paler, a little weaker, a little less alive. He couldn’t bear to watch her slowly fade away, and so he tried to forget her.

It was nearly two years later when her parents called him. They had gotten his number from her phone, they said. They remembered him, and though he might like to know.

The funeral was lifeless, as it should have been. Itsuki had worn the suit that itched slightly in the collar and the dress shoes a size too small. All around him Naomi’s friends and family were crying, but he just felt numb. I failed her. I was her friend and I couldn’t save her. I left her to die.

It was then Itsuki swore he’d never abandon a friend again.

It was a promise he hoped he’d never have to make good on.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The club runs across something interesting.

CHAPTER FOUR

“Hello, girls.” Itsuki stepped out from behind the tree, pushing Airi securely behind it. She was almost guaranteed to follow anyway, but at least he tried. “I heard you were talking about me.”  
“Itsuki!” Masami draped an arm across his neck. “We were! I was just admiring your leadership qualities!”

Itsuki cringed internally, but kept a blank smile on his lips. “Oh, really? That’s so kind of you.”

“Yes, I mean, you’re leader of the Photography Club! I was thinking about joining, actually.” Masami fluttered her eyelashes and lightly leaned on him. The other girls were watching with rapt gazes and Miyu looked as if she was about to bust out a pad to take notes. “How could I do that, hmmm?”

“Well...” Itsuki brightened his smile as if an idea had just come to him. “We’re researching the death of Mai Matsushita for the newspaper. Do you know anything about that?” He winked at her.

“Oh, her!” Masami’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Your clubmate was just asking about her, the purple-haired one. What was her name again?”

“So, do you know something?” Masami was getting suspicious. Itsuki wrapped an arm around her waist, inwardly promising to scrub himself with scalding water.

Masami lit up instantly. “I was telling that girl what I knew, but now that’s she’s gone I suddenly remember more!” She fell back slightly into his arms, and Itsuki was sorely tempted to drop her, but no. “I heard she was murdered by a student at this very school!”

Itsuki made a significant effort to look worried. “That’s horrible, Masami! Do you know who?”

“I have my suspicions.” Did she sneak a glance at the tree? No way to know for sure. Time to get out of here.

“Alright. I’ve considered letting you join the club.” Masami twisted around and put her hands on his shoulders. “And?” she purred.

“I’ll let you join the club over my dead body. We don’t want a two-faced bitch like you in our club. We’re far too good for you. Maybe you should try the Occult Club, I think they’re looking for a new demon to sacrifice to.” Itsuki shoved her away hard. “And I’ll thank you to not come near me ever again.”

Masami stared in shock. He gave her the brightest smile he could muster and walked away. Behind the tree Airi was in hysterics, fist shoved in her mouth to muffle her laughter. “She’ll never live that down!” she howled, tears flowing down her cheeks. “I didn’t know you had it in you, Itsuki!”

Itsuki shrugged. “He was mean to Ryouichi. I don’t like it when people insult my friends.”

“Remind me to never get on your bad side.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ryouichi wasn’t a loner, per say. Most people would disagree, but he really wasn’t. Of course, he’d never argue with most people, so when he was asked if he liked being alone, he’d shrug and mumble some response in the vein of “I don’t know.” In truth, Ryouichi loved people. Unfortunately, people didn’t love him back.

He sat on the side of the classroom, right next to a window. This was lucky, as Ryouichi generally spent more time staring out the window than listening to the teacher. It’s not that he was bored, exactly. To his point of view, the teachers never taught anything worth learning. Anything that was actually valuable, they taught badly. It was better to learn from the books. Or, if he was really, desperate, Airi. She’d always share her notes, but they came with too much conversation.

He liked talking to her, honestly. His clubmates were more interesting that most of what went on at the school. But there’s only so much you can suppress your personality, and if he wasn’t careful, something would always slip out and they’d give him those weird looks he knew so well.

On the other hand, silence wasn’t always best.

Case in point.

“Ryu!”

He sighed inwardly. It was fine if his clubmates called him that, but they asked before they gave him a nickname. Hearing it shouted from across the room wasn’t so nice. “Hi, Aki.”

“So. School is over, and I had an idea.” Aki leaned onto his desk. “You know how I found that secret door last week?”

It had been an old storage room. Aki had been delighted to “find” it, even though Ryouichi had known it was there since he first moved here. It was always good to have a place to hide, especially back when he didn’t know how the other students would react to him. He was used to having to run, and habits were hard to break, even after two years of mostly-quiet.

But, on the other hand, Aki could be useful. She had been hanging around him for a year, trying to get in good with the rest of his club. He wasn’t sure of it was for Katsuro or Itsuki (Probably Itsuki. Katsuro was too nice for her), but she was committed to getting on his good side any way she could. Ignoring the fact that Ryouichi barely had a good side.

She knew things, though. She was a big part of the “in” crowd, and all news passed through them. He had gotten a lot out of her, and he’d hate to lose that. “Yeah, Aki, I know.”

“I think I found another! It’s by the gym this time, and it was super dusty, so I doubt anyone’s been in there for a long time.” She probably meant the gym storage room. Once again, Ryouichi already knew it was there. Gym class had always been a dangerous place, and it was best to have a safe place beyond the locker room. It was dusty, sure, but not nearly as bad as Aki made it seem. Girls. Ryouichi rolled his eyes internally. He had nothing against girls in general, Airi and Emi were great, but the girls at his school were just ridiculous. Aki was the prime suspect. She hated dust, bugs, getting wet, going outside, and pretty much anything that could get a spot on her perfect uniform.

“You think so?” Club meeting didn’t start until 5, so he had time.

“Yeah! Come on!” She knew enough now to not try to pull him along. Ryouichi wasn’t very strong, but he had a thing about personal space.

The gym was separated from the rest of the school, and Aki wrinkled her nose as she stepped out on the track field. Several students were running on the other side, but the lawn was mostly empty. Aki huffed, scampering across the grass onto the track and checking her shoes for dirt. Satisfied, she trotted along the path, automatically assuming Ryouichi would follow.

He could ditch her now. Aki’s worth as an informant was offset by her high maintenance, and Ryouichi wasn’t a fan of gyms. They contained the sports kids, and from what Ryouichi knew, it was best to avoid them. But if he spurned her, she’d bring word back to the other kids, and he’d be an outcast again. Or, even more of an outcast. Ryouichi pulled his hood higher and followed.

The gym was pretty simple, big enough for sports but not so big it became excessive. The wooden floors were freshly polished and they creaked slightly as he stepped on them. The gym lights were on, their fluorescent glow burning the top of his head. Aki seemed not to notice, her hips swaying dramatically as she walked to the back of the gym. She probably wouldn’t notice if a bomb was dropped on the school. That was one way that Airi and Aki were the same: once they got an idea in their head, nothing could stop them.

“Here!” Aki pointed at the back wall, behind some stacked equipment. A door was clearly visible in the electric lights of the gym. How Aki thought it was hidden, Ryouichi had no idea, but if it kept Aki placated...

“Wow, I never noticed that!” He was clearly lying through his teeth, Aki had to notice, but she was preoccupied with working her way around the barricade. Ryouichi had never been good at faking emotions. It wasn’t that he didn’t feel them, he just didn’t really show them. It was pretty easy to tell what he was feeling once you got to know him. Of course, Aki didn’t know that.

Aki tugged hard on the door handle, but her hands kept sliding on the metal. It was obvious she wasn’t really trying, but Ryouichi doubted she could open it even if she did try. That being said, he couldn’t either. “It’s probably locked.” Ryouichi squirmed his way through the blockage to the door. “There’s probably nothing interesting in there anyway.” He grabbed the handle and pulled halfheartedly.

The door swung open.

Aki’s face went white, then green. She let out a half-strangled squeal that she sustained until it evolved into a full-fledged screech. She grabbed onto Ryouichi’s arm, her face a mask of horror, before turning and running out of the gym, still screaming.

Ryouichi stared silently, rubbing his arm where Aki had grabbed it. “Well. I guess that’s interesting.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“WHAT THE F-ING HECK!”

“Really, Katsuro?”

The Photography Club gathered in their club room to wait out the police investigation. For once, Katsuro was the one pacing. Itsuki sat in his swivel chair with his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. Emi stood beside him, a hand on the back of the chair. Airi was sitting on the ground next to Ryouichi, who had his head tucked into his hoodie and his arms pulled inside, a tuft of green hair barely poking out.

Airi continued talking. “A girl just died and that’s all you have to say?”

“Yes! What else is there to say?” Katsuro scratched his arm angrily, leaving red streaks.

“How about, ‘That’s awful’, or, ‘That’s really sad.’”

“What good will that do? Screw this. We have to do something.”

“So now you want to investigate? Seriously, Katsuro? I never expected something this shallow from you.”

“Airi,” Itsuki said. “Stop it.”

“Why? It’s fine for Katsuro to be a selfish asshole, but the instant I try to stand up for something I thought all of us believed in I get scolded? I’m not a kid, Itsuki, and you’re not the boss of me. Where was my support when I wanted to help? I’m a stupid, impulsive child getting in too deep, but if perfect Katsuro wants to do it, than that’s great!”

“Airi.” Itsuki put a hand on her shoulder. “That’s enough.”

Airi looked back at Katsuro. He was trembling again, and as he wiped a hand across his face she saw the back of it was wet. He looked back at her with red eyes. “I’m going to go talk to Aki.” He blinked rapidly, then walked out in what was distinctly not the direction of the nurse’s office, where Aki was laying down.

Itsuki stood up. “He doesn’t want to be weak, Airi. He sees you running headlong into this, and he’s worried, and now that there’s a second guaranteed murder... Give him some slack. You know he cares more than the rest of us combined.”

Airi coughed. “Sorry.”

“Do better than sorry. Go apologize.”

“How? He clearly wasn’t going to see Aki.”

“Then go find out where he went.” Itsuki shoved her towards the door. “And please don’t be rude. You know how you are when you’re annoyed.”

“I’ll try my best.” Airi ducked out of the room, closing the door behind her with a click.

Itsuki turned to Ryouichi. “Are you okay?”

Ryouichi didn’t answer. Emi placed an hand on his shoulder, and when he didn’t protest, wrapped an arm around him. He leaned into her shoulder. Itsuki frowned, but looked to Emi. “What about you, Emi?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you? I know you don’t want to investigate. I’m going to, and Katsuro and Airi, but you can stay out if you want to. Three people is plenty. This could be dangerous, and I don’t want to pressure you into doing something you don’t want to do.”

“No, I...I want to help.” Emi took a deep breath. “If I don’t, I’m no better than the person who’s doing this.”

“What? How does that work?”

“If I can help stop this, then shouldn’t I? I’d just be helping the killer otherwise. I’ve got no right to hide on the sidelines and let you guys do all the dirty work. And, if one of you gets hurt, and I could have done something...”

“Emi, it doesn’t work like that. You’ve got no obligations to investigate.”

“Yes, I do. I have to. I may be a coward, but... Look. If I’m not brave enough to do this, than... I don’t know.”

“Are you sure? You don’t even really have to give an answer, you can just do what you want. I don’t want to pressure you-”

“Drop it, Itsuki.” Emi’s voice took on a sharper edge. She stopped herself, glanced down, and shook her head slightly. “Sorry. But I’m in.”

Itsuki looked uncertain, but he smiled. “Alright, then. Four people.”

“Five.” Ryouichi lifted his head from his chest. His eyes were hollow and dull, like something had died in them, but he looked determined. “I’m helping. I have to help.”

Itsuki met his eyes, but didn’t protest. He held out a hand to Ryouichi and pulled him up. “Five it is.”

Emi stood up too, finally looking Itsuki in the face. “So what now, boss?”

Itsuki grinned slightly, but it looked painful. “Get a good night’s sleep. We have a lot of work to do.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation hits a few bumps.

CHAPTER FIVE

School didn’t start until eight o’clock, but the Photography Club met at seven. Emi was the only one who was fully awake. Airi was nursing a cup of coffee, dark circles under her eyes. Katsuro had his head on his arms, struggling to hold his eyes open. Itsuki was standing, but his eyes were distant and he took several seconds to process any questions directed at him. Ryouichi, who was never energetic, looked surprisingly lucid, but his eyes had never lost yesterday’s haunted quality and he had clearly not slept well.

Emi clapped her hands several times. “Okay, everyone. If we’re going to catch this guy, we need to be organized. Normally, Airi would do this, but since she’s probably about to fall over, I’ll do it.”

“How do we know it’s a guy?” Airi raised her eyebrows over her coffee. “It could be a girl.”

“It’s just an expression. Besides, both victims were girls, and, statistically speaking, it’s more likely that the killer is a boy.”

“Nevermind.” Airi stood up with a groan, placing her coffee cup on the table. “I didn’t stay up all night for nothing. I’ve got a plan.” She pulled a folder from her bag. “Itsuki, you’ll talk to the teachers and the police. Adults love you, they’ll give you answers. Katsuro, you’ll ask the students. Make sure to be subtle.”

“You sure, Airi?” Katsuro turned his head to the side to look at Airi. “From what I’ve seen, the students know nothing.”

“Keep asking. The victim’s friends, her classmates, anyone near the murder. Compile a list of suspects.”

“Airi, you don’t think the killer’s a student?”

“They’ve killed twice now on school grounds in the middle of the day with no one noticing. They’ve got to be either a teacher or a student. Itsuki’ll have the same job.”

“Huh?” Itsuki started. “Did someone say my name?”

Airi flapped a hand at him. “Emi, you and me will ask around town.”

Emi leaned on the table. “Alright, I guess. But if nothing turns up, I’d rather be at school.”

Airi ignored her comment. “Ryouichi, you’ll be in charge of book research. These aren’t the first murders at the school. Find out everything you can.”

Ryouichi nodded, green hair bouncing. For once, he wasn’t wearing his favorite sweatshirt, and in its absence he wrapped his arms around his torso.

Airi snapped her folder shut and dropped it back into her bag. “Alright, everyone good? Good. Now,” she fumbled in her bag for a few seconds, “our second order of business.” From the bottom she pulled a stack of papers, a bit crumpled but otherwise fine.

Itsuki took them from her. “Our flyers?”

“They were printed last night.” Airi smoothed a crease from the one she still held. “I thought now would be a good time to put them up. We could use more eyes.”

“Airi, we’re a Photography Club. People’ll come to take pictures, not to hunt for a murderer.”

“I know that! We’ll ask everyone who joins if they want to help. If they do, we’ll put them to work. If not, they can be in charge of the yearbook photos while we investigate.”

Emi scratched her arm. “That’s a . . . surprisingly good idea.”

“I’m going to ignore that.” Airi grabbed the stapler off the side table and handed it and a stack of flyers to Katsuro. “Go staple these up around the school. Me and Itsuki’ll talk to the teachers.”

Katsuro mock saluted and left. Itsuki picked up half of the remaining papers.

“Wait a second! What about Ryouichi and me?” Ryouichi flinched when Emi said his name, then looked up. “What should we do?”

Airi frowned, biting her lip. “Um. Go talk to those kids that hang out by the incinerator.”

“The delinquents?” Emi’s voice was filled with fear and horror, echoed in Ryouichi’s eyes. “They’ll kill us!”

“No, they won’t. Honestly, it’s about time the two of you grew up a bit.” Airi tried to look serious but a malicious smile twitched on her tips. “Have fun, now!” She grabbed Itsuki by the arm and towed him out of the room.

Ryouichi gulped. “I’m too young to die.”

Emi patted his arm. “Don’t worry. If they kill you, I’ll be sure to save your corpse.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Katsuro pulled a piece of paper off the bulletin board. It advertised a movie night from three months ago. He sighed, crumpling the ad and placing it in the trash can by his feet. All the boards were covered with old and new flyers, as no one ever bothered to clean them. Katsuro had spent twenty minutes digging through the mess and was still barely halfway done.

One of the flyers fell from the board, drifting in the air as it settled at his feet. He picked it up. JOIN THE MARTIAL ARTS CLUB! The words were bright red block letters above a picture of Budo, giving the camera a thumbs up. Katsuro placed it in the small pile by his feet. The Photography Club wasn’t the only one trying for new members.

Of course, none of the other clubs was hunting a murderer. Katsuro sighed, ripping the next flyer off the board without looking at it. The Photography Club wasn’t very serious either. It had mostly been founded as an excuse for them to have their own room. They had spent most meetings goofing off and playing board games, only taking the occasional picture. But now that was no longer an option.

Airi would have investigated no matter what. She was that kind of person. It was probably pretty exciting for her, to have a real adventure like this at the school. And while Itsuki acted reluctant, he was as eager as Airi. He tried to hide it, but they were similar in a lot of ways.

Emi, though. Katsuro had been shocked when he found out she had agreed. Emi was the safe one, who never let anyone get hurt. Katsuro though she would have been against it from the start, but something had changed in her. Katsuro couldn’t tell what, but it would be interesting to see.

And that left Ryouichi. He was the biggest mystery to Katsuro. Ryu had moved to Akademi two years ago, and for the first month or two had spent all his time alone. Katsuro wasn’t the kind of person who could leave someone like that, so he invited Ryouichi to join the Photography Club. He seemed to fit in, but Katsuro could see he was uncomfortable. He was constantly trying to hide. At times Katsuro caught a glimpse of something underneath, but whatever it was, Ryouichi hid it well. Katsuro prided himself on being an excellent judge of people, but Ryouichi was the closest thing to a mystery he had had. Until now.

Katsuro removed the final flyer from the board. It was an ad for what looked like years ago, and the words were so faded Katsuro could barely read them. DETECTIVE CLUB. Katsuro folded the flyer and tucked it into his pocket. Then he reached down and stapled the flyers he had kept back on to the bulletin board. When he was done, he stapled the Photography Club flyer to the exact center of the board.

Katsuro carried the trash can back down the hallway and set it down by the corner. He wiped his hands on his pants and was about to go back to get the rest of the flyers when a voice stopped him.

“Are they sure it’s a suicide? I mean, last time . . .” Shiori. Possibly the most trustworthy of the popular kids, she was careful to check the facts before she spread any bit of gossip. Unless, of course, Masami told her otherwise . . .

“How could it not be? She took her shoes off and everything.” That was Miyu. Perhaps she had been so spurned by Masami she had fled here. Most of the time, she hovered around the older girls. As a freshman, she had almost no worth, but she still tried.

“Was there a note?”

“I don’t know. No one said.” Miyu’s voice was trembling now. “Why is this happening? Why would she do such a thing?”

“Maybe yesterday was too much for her. I heard she was the one who discovered the body.”

Katsuro took a sharp breath. He was outside the door now, and he covered his mouth to keep the girls from hearing.

“But I never thought Aki would . . .” Katsuro gave a shuddering sigh. Ryouichi had been, not friends, but acquaintances with Aki.

Katsuro dropped the rest of the flyers into his bag. There are more important things than advertisement.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I want a mahogany coffin with maple accents and a bouquet of tiger lilies and orchids. Closed coffin, of course. No one will want to see what I look like when this is over.”

Emi wrung her hands as she walked as slowly as she could down the hallway. She was being melodramatic again. She always told herself not to, but she couldn’t help it. It had been a habit for as long as she could remember, and as much as Emi had attempted to break it, it always returned.

“Calm down, Emi.” Ryouichi didn’t look nervous, but he never did. Emi knew him well enough to know he was as freaked as she was. While he may be a master at hiding his emotions, Emi was a master at finding them.

“I’m sorry. I’m just . . .”

“Scared?”

“Not strong enough.” Emi opened the door to the field. “Try terrified.”

You can do this, Emi thought. You’re just talking to them. It’ll only take a few minutes and then you can leave. Absolutely nothing to worry about.

What was the point? They probably didn’t know anything anyway. Maybe they should just go. No reason to bother them.

“Emi?” She looked up to see Ryouichi was at the corner of the school and she was still standing just a few feet from the door. She shook her head. “I . . . I’m coming.”

She was being silly. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Except slow, painful death.

Ryouichi grabbed her arm. Emi looked up in surprise. She had stopped walking again. She let out a breath. “I don’t think I can do this, Ryu.”

She sat down against the building and Ryouichi sat next to her. “Sure you can. We’re just talking.”

“I am not good at talking to strangers.”

“They’re just kids at our school. It’s not that bad, Emi.”

He was bluffing. If anything, he was more scared than she was. As much as Emi hated talking to people he didn’t know, she knew Ryouichi was ten times worse. Especially kids at their school. That was the problem, really. If it had been Airi, or Katsuro, or Itsuki with her, she could have done it. It would have been horrible, but she could have done it. But with Ryouichi, there was no chance.

“I can’t, Ryu.” Her voice came out far smaller than she wanted and she cringed. “I can’t do this.”

Ryouichi looked like he was about to argue further, but then he stopped. “Okay. We’ll say we couldn’t.”

“No!” Airi had asked them to. Emi couldn’t disappoint her. “Can we just say they weren’t there?”

Ryouichi studied her for a second. He looked confused, but then his expression cleared slightly. “Okay, if that’s what you want. But they’ll ask us to try again later. And you know how perceptive Katsuro is.”

“I know.” Dammit. She didn’t want to do this. But what other choice was there? “Thanks, Ryu.”

He smiled slightly. “I get it. Anytime.”

She cursed herself silently as they went back inside.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Emi had never been a strong person. She had known ever since she was little. While the other kids were making their own way in life, Emi was always following after them. She had never had the bravery to stand on her own.

First it was Ren, in second grade. He had always been the bright one, the excited one. He lit up a room by walking into it. Emi was just one of the children following his glow. But even as she had trailed behind him, he had barely noticed her. Soon he moved on, and Emi wasn’t one of the children he took with him.

Then Hina, who wasn’t as bright but more than made up for it in spirit. When Emi was with her she felt fearless, like nothing could ever touch them. Hina was all heart, all fire and heat, a shooting star that left only cinders in its wake. And then one of those cinders was Emi, and she was lost again.

After it was Kaori, who was quiet and shy but pulled people into her orbit like satellites. And while she could never bring the same light to a room, she had the soul of a tiger and would fight for what she believed in even when no one else stood beside her. Even though Emi always had, and always would, but she didn’t need Emi the way Emi needed her.

Mai, who could captivate an entire room with a single word. Takumi, the comet who burnt out too soon. Chiyo, who was the moon to everyone else’s star. Daichi, Rokuro, Tarou, Yuuna, Mio. No matter what Emi did, she always ended up behind someone else until she was shoved aside again.

Then she met Airi.

Airi had spirit, too. She had light, and heart, and fire. She could control a crowd one minute and drive it away the next. She could shine bright enough to blind a room and still let others glow. She had enough passion to change the world and enough confidence to do whatever she wanted. And she was Emi’s best friend.

It was startling, to have someone know you. Emi had spent years on the outskirts, pulled by people strong than her until she was tossed away again. But Airi didn’t do that. She cared, even when it was hard. She tried instead of pretending nothing was wrong. And for once, Emi had a real friend.

She wondered how long it would last.


End file.
